The Man Behind the Mission...

My name is Malcolm Johnson Jr. I’ve lived what this generation is going through. As a Division I football player at Auburn and Bowling Green, I had the crowds, the teammates, and the attention but I also knew what it felt like to be disconnected on the inside.

I started Start a Conversation because I’ve seen too many people in Gen Z (including me) suffer in silence. Depression, anxiety, and loneliness aren’t just statistics to me; they’re battles my friends and I have faced. But those aren’t the root problem they’re symptoms.

Disconnection shows up everywhere: broken friendships, shallow relationships, silence in families, and even whole schools or workplaces where nobody really knows each other. It also breeds something even more dangerous a lack of empathy. When we stop listening to each other, we lose the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. That’s why so many people today are quick to anger, aggressive, and divided  because disconnection kills compassion.

At the heart of it all, the root problem is the same: we’ve stopped truly talking. I believe the simplest answer is also the most powerful we need to start talking again. Real conversation restores empathy, breaks down walls, and reconnects a generation that’s been living in silence.

SAC is my way of giving back what I’ve learned. We are building a culture where my generation feels seen, heard, and connected. Every item is fuel, not the focus.

This isn’t about building a brand. It’s about saving my generation.